Ontario reports 848 new COVID-19 cases on Friday

Ontario reported another 848 cases of COVID-19 and 11 more deaths linked to the illness on Friday.

Of the deaths reported today, the Ministry of Health said six had occurred more than a month ago and were added to the daily count due to a "data cleanup."

The new cases include 166 cases in Toronto, 117 in Peel Region, 77 in York Region, 74 in Windsor-Essex, 53 in Hamilton, 53 in Ottawa and 48 in Durham Region.

Of the cases reported with a known vaccination status:

• 534, or 62.9​ per cent, were in unvaccinated people.
• 76, or 8.9 per cent, had a single dose.
• 189, or 22.3 per cent, had two doses.

Meanwhile, Ontario has administered thousands of third doses of COVID-19 vaccine to some of the province's most vulnerable residents and will continue to do so despite the World Health Organization calling for a moratorium on the practice.

The global public health agency says vaccine-rich countries should stop offering third doses for the rest of the year so the shots can be diverted to under-vaccinated countries.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province had administered more than 14,500 third doses as of Tuesday night — a number it plans to start reporting publicly.

Alexandra Hilkene said the added shots offer extra protection against COVID-19 to immunocompromised patients, such as transplant recipients, people receiving treatment for blood cancers, and those who have received an anti-CD20 agent.

She says the COVID-19 vaccine is not as effective in those people, and a third dose helps level the playing field for them.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunizations on Friday recommended that people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised get a course of three shots of vaccine.

The advice comes as the fourth wave of the pandemic continues roiling Ontario.

Here are some key pandemic indicators and figures for Friday from the Ministry of Health's daily provincial update:

Seven-day average of daily cases: 729.

Tests completed in the last 24 hours: 28,247.

Provincewide test positivity rate: 3.1 per cent.

Active cases: 6,123.

Patients in ICU with COVID-related illnesses: 177, with 97 needing a ventilator to breathe.

Deaths: 11 more deaths, pushing the death toll to 9,590.

Vaccinations: 35,844 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered by public health units on Thursday. About 77.7 per cent of eligible Ontarians, or those aged 12 and older, have now had two doses. That represents 68.7 per cent of the province's total population.